nr.5 / vol. 4 – Stavropol and Krasnodar Krai
by Bordei Ciprian
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is the only predominantly ethnic Russian region included in the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD). Because of its contemporary geopolitical position, at the center of the North Caucasus, contiguous to a majority of the republics of the area, Stavropol Krai occupies a special place in the strategy for Russia’s territorial development[1].
Most of its territory is steppe-like with a marked trend toward drier grassland to the south and east. The rayons on the borders with Kalmykia and Dagestan are sparsely populated, with sheep-herding as the major agricultural activity. To the northwest, large farms (formerly kolkhozy), dominate in the chernozem soils. Here, grains are the main product. In the south of the region lies the piedmont, of which the southwestern part known as Kavkaz Mineral’nyye Vody (Caucasian Mineral Waters) is a region of spa and resort cities that developed during the early to mid-19th century.
Because it is a region with attractive urban and rural opportunities for employment in the immediate vicinity of conflict zones, it has become a primary destination for migrants. Stavropol city and Krai have historically been known as an advance post of Russia in the Caucasus, with the Krai mirroring numerous contemporary ethnic-demographic and migration problems of the North Caucasus region and, more generally, of the entire country.